vol

Surprised no post here about this event:

New York’s Five Boro Bike Tour: More than 32,000 ‘ride for Boston’

"Backpacks, saddle bags and hydration systems were banned from the 40 mile, car-free ride through the five boroughs".

Papa Tom

Wow! Hats off to all those riders. I can barely pedal the 2.5 miles from home to work without my panniers and full saddlebag tool kit.

Having volunteered at the checkpoints for the TransAlt ride for several years, I really want to be part of one of these organized rides at least once in my lifetime. Raising money for Boston would have been a good excuse to do it this year.

vol

With the saddlebag ban, I'm confident you can do it.

One comment posted there:
"How bout riding for the 762 people killed by drunk drivers since April 15?"

So Papa Tom, you will have more chances. I think it an excellent proposal to organize a riding tour for all the cyclists killed by drunk or traffic-violating drivers.

Papa Tom

It always irks me a bit to see that so many of these organized bike tours in NYC are sponsored by the Brooklyn Brewery. If the Five Boro Tour is one of them, I don't think you'll see anybody riding against drunk driving anytime soon.

Bacciagalupe

Unfortunately, a 51 year old man had a heart attack while crossing the Queensboro Bridge during FBBT.

https://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer...bike-tour.html

FrankieV

Here's some additional info on that.
Unfortunately, that bridge and the approach to that bridge have casued more than one heart attack that I know about.
https://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/t..._content=Local

jyossarian

I wonder if that's the same rider I heard about that fell over on the downhill part of the bridge.

vol

That is so sad. According to some readers' comments, other cycling deaths from heart attacks happened on that bridge and other bridges in the past. I used to ride that bridge a lot and know how hard it is to climb the vamps on both ends of the bridge (thought I was too weak). Eventually I just got off and walked the bike. Riding down the vamps was also nerve racking as the lane is very narrow, and at the end you are heading straight into traffic with cars; even worse at night.

Stacy

I don't remember hearing anything about other cyclists deaths on the QBB but I do remember someone died on the FDR, near Houston Street, during the MS Ride. One or two swimmers have passed away during the triathlon in Riverside Park. Several runners have passed away during the Marathon. I guess this is just one of the unfortunate things that can happen when you have more than 30,000 people in a sports event.

FrankieV

Absolutely.
The other heart attacks I remember hearing about on the QB bridge, didn't result in a death.

Stacy

Vol,
The 5 Boro Bike Tour takes an entirely different route across the bridge. The bike path runs alongside traffic on the lower level. The 5BBT uses the upper level roadway which they enter via an exit ramp. It curves as they descend into LIC giving a spectacular view. The climb to the upper roadway is so steep - standing in your pedals steep - that many cyclists doing the tour walk untill they reach the section where it begins to level out. Of course this just makes it a little harder for those who can do the climb since they have to slow down to avoid all the walkers.

DSchlichting

I was impressed at how, at short notice, all those backpacks, panniers, etc. we used to see just evaporated and people carried on, seemingly, just fine. When the restrictions were first announced, I had asked for a water station at the 125th / ACP bathroom location. That did not happen, and the temperatures made it unnecessary. The water station on 138th St. in the Bronx did a good business all morning and still had more capacity available, and the crew did a great job of moving riders through. I only started riding the rest of the route when the SAGS cleared my area of Harlem and the Bronx, so did not see how the food and water worked out farther down the route.

vol

Oh, I see, thanks for telling me. No wonder! So I am weak! I thought the "normal" ends of the bridge where bikes usually goes on on any other day was hard to climb already. Probably due to my wrong gearing and too low seat. Do you have idea about how many degrees the angle of elevation of the slope of the 5 Boro Bike Tour was? Like 30 or 40 degree angle?

nigelsane

No disrespect, but you should know that one of the founders of Brooklyn Brewery lost his son, who was a regular bike commuter who got hit by a car. He's been a strong advocate for cycling and cyclists' rights since.

vol

I read the story and realized the ghost bike I've seen near the Manhattan Bridge in Chinatown was for him. (In this particular case it was not the driver's fault. I would be very careful, or avoid, riding on a bridge which had construction areas.)

indyfabz

There already is one. It's called the Ride of Silence? It takes place in hundreds of locations around the world. The date for the northern hemisphere is in two days--May 15th.

https://www.rideofsilence.org/main.php

Surprised there isn't one in NYC.